Andrew Witherspoon #Pray4Drew

Andrew Witherspoon is an 18 year old Senior at North Kansas City High School in Kansas City, MO. On December 29, 2013 Andrew got sick with what we thought was the flu, he seemed to be getting better but then on January 3, 2014 his Mother noticed that he was becoming more lethargic and delirious, she attributed it to his fever. The next morning she took him to the Emergency Room because he was unable to walk to the restroom with out assistance. The ER Physicians' thought that he had meningitis based on his CT Scan and Symptoms. Neurosurgery was called and he was transported by ambulance to University of Kansas Medical Center. Upon arrival his mother was told that he did have meningitis but also a more severe condition of the brain called subdural empyema and sinusitis. He would need a brain surgery and sinus surgery immediately to save his life. Andrew's surgery began at 12:00 am on 1/5/2014 and finished at 6:54 am. He had so much infection in the brain that they were concerned with him having seizures and a stroke. He was progressing well after surgery and breathing on his own with normal air. Over the course of the next few days his condition began to decline rapidly. He began to have intercranial pressure from increased spinal fluid and needed and EVD put in to drain the excess fluid. That evening he also began to have difficulty breathing. He suffred two seizures in the middle of the night and was placed on a ventiator that morning. On 1/12 the EVD (drain to remove cerebrospinal fluid) was removed. He was doing great and even got out of bed to walk the next day. On 1/13 he had an MRI to analyze the amount of infection left in his brain. That day I noticed that he was a more lethargic and his speech was less clear. At about 3 pm Dr. Ebersole (neurosurgeon) reviewed the MRI with me and showed me that there was still a substantial amount of infection in the brain. So he said another surgery would be needed to remove the infection because the brain builds a barrier and the Vancomycin was unable to fight off the infection that was still in the brain. On 1/14 he had another brain surgery to wash out the infection and another sinus surgery to clean out the upper sinuses. He did incredibly well and continued to progress positively daily, finally being able to eat good for the first time on 1/17. On 1/19 he was moved from the ICU to progressive care and did well there too. On 1/21 he was moved from KU Hospital to North Kansas City Hospital Rehabilitation unit He still needs 4 weeks of vancomycin and meropenem (both will be given to him thru his picc line), PT, OT and Speech Therapy. He will have another brain surgery to put the bone flap back in on the right side in 3-4 months. I know that many of you are like that's a lot and I am right there with you. To think that all of this came from a sinus infection blows my mind. I can't stress enough how God showed up and showed out!! The Doctors said that he wasn't going to make it but God told me that he had the last say so and that Andrew's time was not up! So many BLESSONS have come out of this situation and I thank The Lord for using my son as an instrument to not only bring my family back close but to bring believers and non believers together so the non believers can see just how real The Lord is and that he is the ultimate healer and all you have to do is just believe!! Thank you all for your constant prayers, calls and texts we sincerely appreciate it.

And all of this happened because of a sinus infection. After talking with the Infectious Disease Physician's we were informed that this happens to teenage boys the most. Please let's help spread awareness to this condition.